Iceland is trialling Facewatch’s live facial recognition software in two of its shops in the north of England. Privacy rights organisation Big Brother Watch has slammed shops’ use of this technology, drawing attention to its intrusive and discriminatory nature.
Recently, Big Brother Watch drove a digital ad van around Asda stores trialling similar surveillance technology, displaying the message ‘Asda – Rolling back your privacy’.
A number of innocent people have been wrongly flagged by Facewatch’s system in shops across the UK. Last week, the BBC reported that a woman was thrown out of a Home Bargains shops after being falsely accused of theft.
The Grocer – Iceland trials facial recognition tech to help tackle crime